interdisciplinary outpatient medical rehabilitation: adults, children and adolescents; and

stroke inpatient specialty.

"This achievement is a tribute to our entire rehabilitation staff who are dedicated to the goal of helping people home," said Teresa Reiser, PT, MS LVR, director of neuromuscular sciences at Memorial Medical Center and a physical therapist. "Our programs greatly benefit from the tremendous depth of professional knowledge and experience of each staff member."

Memorial Rehab Services seeks to improve the functional living skills of persons recovering from disabling medical illness or injury through intensive treatment from an interdisciplinary team. "We help our patients overcome barriers to safely return home and to foster successful return to productive daily activities," Reiser said.

Patients and families are served by interdisciplinary teams of physicians, nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, psychologists, therapeutic recreational specialists, dietitians, social workers and chaplains, who develop evidence-based plans of care unique to each patient.

"Our rehabilitation programs foster independence, dignity and hope, improving the lives of persons across the lifespan and with the most severe and chronic disabilities," according to Charles D. Callahan, PhD, vice president of operations for Memorial Health System. "Our team members are among the best anywhere in the world. I'm extremely proud of their dedication, creativity, teamwork and energy to improve the health of the people and communities we serve."

A five-member survey team spent two days in late April performing a comprehensive evaluation of the rehabilitation services offered at Memorial Medical Center and the hospital's Koke Mill Medical Center at 3132 Old Jacksonville Road in Springfield.
Memorial Rehab Services also provides care at Menard Medical Center, 1 Centre Drive, Petersburg; Memorial Industrial Rehabilitation in Springfield; and SportsCare, 100 Chatham Road, Springfield.

In 2007, Memorial Medical Center earned a three-year CARF accreditation in the same five service areas - one of only four in the world as well as the only one in Illinois to achieve that level.

"Our patients and their families can be confident that this designation ensures that they will receive extraordinary care from a multidisciplinary team that uses evidence-based clinical practice guidelines to provide the highest quality of care," Reiser said. "Our goal is to provide the very best in rehabilitation care, and this accreditation outcome from CARF is validation that we are succeeding."

Memorial participates in a national rehabilitation outcomes measurement program, the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation, to ensure the ongoing and improving quality of the services it provides.

Founded in 1966, CARF is an independent, nonprofit organization that accredits programs and services in behavioral health and medical rehabilitation, among other clinical programs, throughout the United States, Canada and Europe.